This weekend, I ran a slightly smaller race, the St. Charles 10-Miler. This race was located in Waldorf, MD. There were only 328 finishers, which I must say is a disappointment. This is a great race and more people should check it out.
Caveat – they bill this race as flat. It is not flat. There are some sizeable hills. But they aren’t lying when they call it scenic. It is an absolutely gorgeous course. And the course support is amazing. I have never seen so much food on a race course. There were water and Gatorade stops every two miles and at each stop, there were Powerbars or Gu. I only picked up a Gu (and pocketed it for a later run), but I was impressed to see that much fuel out there.
The cheering squads were quite impressive. The volunteers were clearly excited to be out there, and it makes it a lot of fun to run.
Post-race support was also great. Lots of snack options, and the race premiums? A shirt AND a really nice gym bag. Can’t complain there.
This race is definitely slower-runner friendly. I ran with two wonderful friends and we treated it as a training run (as we have two half marathons in the next 3 weeks), and even stopped for a few minutes when one of the ladies got a nosebleed. We were near the back of the pack but still had great support. There were also some walkers in the race, and I think the last group of finishers crossed the finish line around 2:50. That’s what I call a great race! A race that supports its winners as well as the people who are just out there to finish.
If it works out, I will definitely be back next year.